“Everyone has a story. Mine starts off in New York City. At a house — my house. My house is cozy and appropriate for four children, my little brother Owen, my older sister Brooke, my oldest brother Logan, my little brown cockerspaniel-poodle doggie named Maggie, and me. We all live together as a family. But there was only one thing missing in our happy, crazy little, well, big family. Our parents.”
Siblings bring each other closer together
and learn from each other every day, this story is an example of that.
Hope you enjoy.
Everyone has a story. Mine starts off in New York City. At a house — my house. My house is cozy and appropriate for four children, my little brother Owen, my older sister Brooke, my oldest brother Logan, my little brown cockerspaniel-poodle doggie named Maggie, and me. We all live together as a family. But there was only one thing missing in our happy, crazy little, well, big family. Our parents.
***
The morning started off a usual. Owen complaining to me: “Lilyyy I wanna play, I don’t wanna go to school. Its boring!” he would scream. Then meanwhile Maggie jumped on my lap I would complain to my sister: “Brooke, will you stop brushing your hair? Its already brushed! Help out with the others!” And Brooke would complain to Logan: “Logan. Please don’t be so messy! There are other people in this house look around, this place is a mess!”
And Logan had no one to complain to, so this is what he would say: “ Owen, you will have fun and learn at school, Lily, help Owen get ready since you already are, Brooke please stop brushing your hair and help me clean this house.” So we would do what Logan said, eat breakfast, and head to school. I wonder how it would be if an adult were in charge.
***
I get off the cab and head to my school, John A. Lowan Secondary, I get out my ID card I need to enter my school:
Lily Aldrin
Birthdate: 2-18-01
8th Grade
I hand it over to the secretary, Dawnica, she’s actually pretty nice. Then again, I have no friends so I guess talking my school secretary is the only option left. Although there is this girl, Jennifer Blue, who is nice to me, but she is best friends with this this other girl Emma Greenbaum. Like I care. Okay maybe I am a little jealous.
***
“You are lucky you have Mr. Sheeler,” says Dawnica. as I start to enter the school.
Let me explain. I go to private school. Ever wonder how we have enough money for that, and for food, and for our apartment? Mr. Sheeler was great friends with our parents. So when my parents left, Mr. Sheeler did not move in with us, but gave us the money that we needed in order to live. And Dawnica being my “friend,” I told her about him. I smooth-out my uniform: a white blouse, navy blue skirt, and nude tights. I quickly say bye to Dawnica and head to my homeroom.
***
I guess now’s the time I should tell you about my parents. When I was about one year old, my father Theodore Aldrin went off to Haiti to study fossils that were found. Unfortunately, when a tsunami occurred my father drowned and died, my mother was in a horrible position in life with four children. Things got worse a year later. She found out she had breast cancer. Luckily, it did not affect her too much. Until she found out she was pregnant. When Owen was born my mom died.
***
When I got home, Maggie jumped onto my lap as I sat down and started doing irritating science homework. Soon, when I finished, my brother came into the living room. He dropped his backpack and waved a letter in the air.
“What’s this?” I said.
“It’s my acceptance letter,” he said.
I replied to him “for what?” even though I knew what he was talking about.
“For Yale,” he said.
“Logan, I know this means a lot ot you, but you can’t just leave us here.”
“Lily, I”m not just going to leave you here. You have Brooke and Mr. Sheeler,” he said.
“But we need you!” I said, then stomped to my room.
***
When I got to my room, I threw myself on the bed and started crying. First, my two parents are dead and now my oldest brother who is basically like my dad? It’s all so unfair. Why me? Why not some other red-head?
“Ugh, keep the drama to William Shakespeare.,” Brooke whined when she heard me crying.
I sit up on my bed and said, “Brooke, ugh, why do you have to be such a teenager girl? Won’t you for once see how life is for me? For us?”
“Logan’s leaving!” I screamed at her.
Then I broke down into tears.
“He’s going to college!” I sobbed.
Then for the first time, Brooke took her headphones off, looked up from her computer, sat down next to me and hugged me.
***
Friday, December 25th, the day of Christmas, was the day Logan started packing. Most kids would start next September, but Yale invited him to start in the second semester January 5th. Packing would be quick for him. Being himself, Logan packing up means quickly throwing everything in his room into old Fresh Direct Boxes that he found in the basement. Mr. Sheeler had bought us a Christmas tree and bought each of us a present. Owen got a stuffed dinosaur, I got a sock monkey for my collection, Brooke got a pair of headphones, and Logan got a laptop. Of course. Everything was going by so quickly. Logan was leaving in less than a week.
I woke up to the smell of pancakes and Maggie licking my face meanwhile jumping around in my bed.
“Breakfast is ready!” Logan called. When we were all sitting down, Brooke said, “Now, who is going to make our pancakes?”
Logan rolled his eyes, again.
“Aren’t you gowna miss us? Why you woll your eyes?” said Owen playing with his pancakes.
“First, Owen, don’t play with your food, eat it. And second, I wish you guys would understand how exciting is is that I’m going to college. You haven’t even said congratulations once!”
There was silence.
“Congratulations,” said Brooke sarcastically.
***
That night, Mr. Sheeler called. Owen picked up the phone.
“Helwo-o, Who iiis it?”
“It is Mr. Sheeler,” said Mr. Sheeler with his typical German accent.
“I want to play with my stuffed dinosaur. I’ll give it to….Lilyyyy,” Owen yelled.
I rushed to the living room to grab the phone. I grabbed the antique phone sitting on the desk right next to the Christmas tree. Owen would always call my name when Mr. Sheeler called because I was Owen’s favorite. I answered the phone. “Hello Mr. Sheeler,” I mimicked his German accent.
“Hello Lily. I just wanted to let Logan and your family know that I have paid for Yale. And tell him congratulations…”
Quickly, I said, “Okay, bye.”
Usually, I have long conversations with Mr. Sheeler about when he and my father were searching for fossils in Germany…Boring! But this time, I hung up quickly because Logan was leaving in 5 days and I just wanted to get the thought out of my head. I swing into Logan’s room and said, “Sheeler paid for Yale,” then I sat on my bed and thought I’d had enough, I had to get out of here. I put on my shoes, my coat, and went out to Central Park. The snow was falling. I fell onto my back and just rolled around. I looked up and thought about where I was right now. I was thirteen. I had three siblings. My parents died and my oldest brother was going off to college. I started to cry. Then I stopped myself. I mean, I should be grateful that I have three siblings and I have a German man supporting my family financially. And I mean I guess it wouldn’t be so bad if my brother went off to college. Eventually, I’m gonna go to college. I lay there in silence. Then I got up and went home.
It was January 4th, the day Logan left. Everyone had said goodbye to Logan and I went with him to Grand Central station. What I felt was so hard to explain. My heart hurt and I felt like I wanted to cry, but when I tried I just couldn’t.
Before I knew it Logan said, “Oh! There’s the train!”
I saw it in him that he felt like jumping around. Meanwhile I just wanted to fall back and pretend that I was in a world where my parents never died and Logan never went off to college…
The sound of the train woke me. I just had to face reality. Then I looked over to Logan, finally I saw the sadness in him I had been waiting for. Logan looked at me. I looked right back at him.
“Logan, um, good luck,.” I said.
He smiled at me. “Thank you, Lil… Ill miss you,” he said softly.
“Ill miss you too,” I said, looking up to hold in my tears.
He hugged me, then picked up his bag and got on to the train. Just as the train left I forgot to say something. I started running after the train. I stopped myself. Then I shouted at the top of my lungs,
“LOGAAN! CONGRATULAAATIONS!”
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